Finding Hope in Darkness
by AhogeAdventures
Summary: Hinata Hajime witnesses an incident that causes him much pain and grief. He questions himself, his past and the people closest to him. Will he fall into despair or hang on to hope? (An alternate universe where Chiaki Nanami survives)
1. Chapter 1

Warning:

This story contains spoilers.

This story also contain dark themes.

—-

On the ship deck, a young man dressed in a black business suit stood, who waited patiently as he rested on the ship's railings. The sound of waves crashed around him. The cold wind blew, tousling his dark brown hair. His pair of eyes, one red and the other a light olive green, held an adamant gaze at the illuminated island that was laying in the distance. The nostalgic sight gave him a soft warmth in his heart, causing him to give out a small smile.

He was finally heading back home—Jabberwock Island.

It's been two months since his last stay on the the island. Work has been calling him to travel a lot. His main job was to help the Future Foundation and to maintain the peace in Jabberwock Island. He had the responsibility to report to the foundation on the status of the island and it's inhabitants, who were previously known as the remnants of despair (himself included). It's been around three years since he and the other survivors of the Neo World Program, restored their remaining classmates who were asleep.

 _It's a miracle that they all survived_ were the words of the leader of the Future foundation. It put the whole foundation in a state of surprise but also in fear. They were afraid that some of them would return to their past states, that's why Hajime took on the role to update them on his classmates's well-being.

 _Bzzt Bzzt!_

A small vibration came from his coat's pocket that disrupted him out of his thoughts. He took his phone out and swiped the screen. It was a message from Naegi, the leader of the Future Foundation.

"Good evening Hajime! They will be waiting by 6 in the morning at Jabberwok Island's dock. We hope you and your companions would have a memorable time!"

A smile spread across Hajime's lips and was instantly hit by last week's memory.

He was outside the conference room in one of the branches buildings of the Future Foundation. He was finished giving a report to the body of representatives of the foundation. As he was adjusting his tie, he saw Naegi approaching him.

"Hey, great work back there! You guys have made a lot of progress on the Island." Naegi said, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Thank you. I owe it all to them, everyone's been contributing a lot on the island." Hajime replied.

"Yeah, you guys have been really working hard. You've also been helping us a lot."

Hajime nodded and gave him a smile.

"And for that, the team and I have decided to give you a token of gratitude for all the work you've done." Naegi said, grateful for Hajime. "We'd like to give you an all-expense-payed trip to a ski resort. It'a located at a small snow-covered town. It's a few days away from Jabberwock Island via ferry. We'd like to invite all of your friends but due to some complications you can only bring two people with you." Naegi said with an apologetic look.

Two people instantly popped up in Hajime's mind. His boyfriend Komaeda and his best friend Chiaki.

"Thank you so much Naegi. I'am grateful. Please thank the team for me as well." he said, giving a bow. Hajime hid the thrill that was trying to sip out of his body. He could spend time with two of his favorite people in the world without having to deal with work.

"It's the least we can do! The ferry will pick you guys up a few hours by the time you arrive at Jabberwock Island." Naegi informed him. "The trip plus the traveling time would take 3 weeks in total."

"Okay. Thank you again." Hajime bowed again, with a smile on his face.

"For the rest of your friends, we were thinking of giving them something else as a token for their contribution. But we haven't decided on what that thing would be yet." Naegi said with a sheepish grin.

"That's not a problem. We are all looking forward to it."

Hajime pulled back out of the memory.

He couldn't wait for the trip ahead of them. He couldn't wait to see his white-haired boyfriend again.

"Komaeda…" Hajime whispered at the nearing island.


	2. Chapter 2

Hajime disembarked the ship, finally setting foot on the island. Memories started flooding his mind. Memories of the experiences he had with everyone on the island: his friends, his best friend and his lover. He couldn't wait to see them again.

He bolted through the shore of the Island and into it's concrete roads, clutching his heavy suitcase along with him. The sound of crashing water got softer as he was getting farther away from shore. He checked his phone. It read _9:30pm_.

He rushed even more through the streets, excitement coursed through his body. He passed by the airport and the supermarket in full speed. His running plus the island's cold wind blew against his face gave it a burning and numbing sensation, but it didn't matter to him, he was ecstatic to see his boyfriend again.

The only sound he heard were the now shushed waves and the echoes of his shoes that tapped on the ground at the dead of the night. He saw no one around which was unusual at that time of night. _People usually didn't sleep that early, they were probably resting in their homes._

Hajime slowed his pace down as his house was in sight. He breathed heavily trying to catch his breath. He was exhausted.

He stopped walking as he reached the front gates of his home. He took a pause and he stood still scanning the area around him.

Hajime stood in the neighborhood they've built during those three years which used to be a patch of flat land. He remembered how different it looked three years ago. They've all moved out of the cottages in front of the hotel that they used to reside in. There were also a number of new facilities here and there but mostly upgrades and repairs of the pre-existing structures on the Island.

He was proud of what they have accomplished. He felt a sense of pride and satisfaction well up inside of him. His eyes trailed off of his surroundings and stopped at the house in front of him.

It was two and a half years ago since he and Komaeda became a couple. They decided to move in together and decided to build a bigger home than the previous cottages that they lived in. It was a one-story home, comfortable for two people to live in. It had a joint mini kitchens and living room, a bathroom and a bedroom.

The others liked the idea of building their own home, so they've all left their cottages and designed a neighborhood to live in. It was probably weird for an outsider's perspective since they would think that they could all have chosen to live on different parts of the island but they all decided to live close to one another. Everyone considered each and everyone on the island as family after all.

As Hajime observed his shared home, all he wanted to do right now was enter it and spend time with his boyfriend. He would tell Komaeda about their trip at six, help him pack his bags, and inform Chiaki too.

Hajime rushed in and pushed the cold steel in front of him passing through the gates.

He didn't tell anyone that he would be coming home that day since he wanted to surprise Komaeda.

He could imagine Komaeda hugging him tight welcoming him back home with happy tears in his eyes. Hajime blushed slightly and smiled at the thought, chuckling to himself.

He walked to the front door and placed a hand over the knob.

As he grabbed the cold metal ball in his hand, his smile faded and his whole body went cold, like the steel sucked up all of his body heat. His muscles tensed, his stomach was in a knot and he felt like his world was about to collapse.

 _What is this?_

His excitement earlier turned to dread.

He could remember the last time he felt this. _Komaeda was dead on the floor with different cuts on his body, a huge spear impaled him at the center of his torso, his face wore an expression of agony._ He recalled it vividly like it just happened minutes ago.

His whole body was starting to sweat. Something inside him was screaming at him to not go through the door. His mind wanted him to run, run as far as possible. He didn't understand why these feelings popped up.

 _Could Komaeda have hurt himself while he was a gone?_ No that couldn't be.

With a deep breath Hajime turned the doorknob with his sweaty palm and opened the door. It was dark, all the lights were turned off.

A smell reached his nose, causing his eyebrows to furrow. He recognized the smell. It was the smell of Alcohol.

As his eyes adjusted to the dark he could make out a few beer bottles littered on the kitchen counters and a few on the living room rug.

He dropped his suit case near the door, closed the door behind him and entered his home in a slow and quiet pace. He saw a flash of pink to his left. His mind couldn't make up what he was looking at.

A sound startled Hajime, stopping him from staring at the object. His head whipped to the direction of where the sound came from. He stared at the bedroom door that was left ajar.

He crept to the source of the sound, step by step making sure not to make any noise. As he moved closer and closer to the door the sound became more audible.

He could hear heavy panting, animalistic in sound.

He also heard soft whimpers.

Hajime peeked through the door and saw where the heavy breathing was coming from. It was coming from his boyfriend. Komaeda had his mouth agape with drool dripping down on one side of his lip. His cheeks were tinted pink and his eyes, closed. He wasn't wearing anything except a thin layer of sweat that glistened against the moonlight.

The whimpers came from a woman who was under Komaeda. Her tears and moans were filled with lust and ecstacy. Her whole body was bent down in a kneeling position. Her hair covered her eyes but Hajime didn't need to see them to know who it was. The 8-bit clip on her hair gave it away. It was his best friend.

 _Chiaki._

At that moment everything Hajime felt earlier melted away. He no longer felt the anxiety that was building up from earlier. He no longer felt the fear that touched his heart a while back. He no longer felt the sadness welling inside of him. He just stood there… he felt like nothing.

He just stared at them, his eyes gave out no hint of emotion. His face, expressionless. His body, numb

He backed away from the door, as slow as he was earlier, making no sound at all. He pulled a chair and sat beside the dining room table. He looked at the pink figure he saw earlier, it sat across from where he was sitting. He could now clearly see what it was. It was Chiaki's backpack, with it's cotton stuffed cat head staring at him, mocking him.

Hajime just slumped his body on the dining room chair. He faced the ceiling and stared at it. His gaze passed through the ceiling as if he stared into space. His eyes shook as it clouded with a fog of numbness.

He tried hard to reflect on what he was feeling.

 _He felt nothing._

He scanned the room and looked at the scattered bottles everywhere.

 _What a mess._

He heard everything loud and clear as if he was just right beside them. He could hear the loud sounds of panting and moaning circling around his head.

 _He felt like it would never end._

And then he heard it. A scream. A scream of intense pleasure.

A few minutes pass and the night became dead-silent.

The ticking of the clock was the only thing that gave out sound. It was pulsing in Hajime's head giving it a click of pain every time it ticked.

Hajime laid his head on his arms that were folded on the table. He tried to think of what just happened. _Why were both of them together? What went wrong? What could have he done to make Komaeda make love to someone else._ Nothing came to mind.

He was a good boyfriend to Komaeda. He treated him as the most precious thing in his life. He didn't understand why things were happening this way. Could it be that Hajime did something to cause the boy to look for love in another person? If only Komaeda could have told him what the problem was he would have done something to fix whatever issues they had.

Or maybe there were no issues? Maybe it was as simple as _Komaeda didn't love him anymore?_ Or maybe he never loved him from the start? Maybe Komaeda was toying with him all this time?

What about Chiaki? Did she have feelings for Komaeda?

All these questions circled Hajime's thoughts.

Hajime grabbed his hair with both his hands. His head started hurting even more.

He couldn't understand any of this.

He tried to calm down.

His mind started drifting, remembering all the precious moments he shared with Komaeda and Chiaki.

A hot tear ran down the side of Hajime's face, the sensation pulled him back to reality. His face still gave no expression but at least he could feel something brewing in his chest.

 _Pain._

He could not make any sense of what just happened.

None at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Three years ago, after Hajime and his four friends survived the killing field trip (also known as the Neo World Program), He, Sonia, Akane, Kuzuryu and Soda woke up right after defeating the A.I. Junko: the virus that caused them all to enter such an inhumane situation of "kill or be killed".

When they stirred awake, after finishing the game, they were greeted by the Future Foundation members. The survivors all had floods of memories of their past lives. Memories prior to the Neo World Program and memories during it.

After a couple of weeks of the Future Foundation monitoring them and making sure they were no longer under the influence of Junko's despair, the Future foundation members left the island and put Hajime in charge of his friends.

The rest of the group who, unfortunately, were killed during the killing field trip, were in a comatose state in the real world and Naegi reminded him that they would never wake up again, but Hajime protested.

Fortunately for the ones who were asleep, the surviving group would never give up on trying to rescue them, they clung to the chance—the hope in their hearts—that one day they could create a future with them again.

Hajime and the remaining group who were conscious took care of them. They stayed by their side as much as possible, keeping track and monitoring their vital signs.

Hajime, who kept the talents of Izuru, along with the hope brimming inside of him, with the help of the others, were able to succeed in tinkering with the devices and software used in the Neo world program, making them attain a higher percentage of chance to wake their classmates up while keeping their memories intact.

It took them a month of sleepless nights, a month of anticipation, a month of clinging on to hope and a month of hard work to see a result.

It all payed off.

The room containing the incubators was quiet except for the rhythmic beeping noises of the heart monitors.

Everyone was sleeping except for Hajime, who was the only one awake. He sat right beside Komaeda's Incubator as he watched the white-haired boy. His chest heaving up and down slowly, that was illuminated by the green lights of the mechanical shell. His eyes still closed contently as if he was just taking a short nap.

A persistent beeping sound brought Hajime back out of his stupor. He looked where the sound came from until his eyes rested on a red light beeping on Mikan's incubator. He stood up quickly and checked on her. The device of the Neo world program was removed from her head. Her eyes were wide open with tears pouring out of it's corners. She stared at Hajime with wide eyes. Hajime pressed the button to unlock the incubator.

The incubator's slowly opened, it's glass slowly split down the center and automatically moved on it's own, opening it up like a flower in bloom. A chilly vapor spilled out just like that of a freezer being opened. As it was fully opened Mikan sat up with a cry, her hands clutched her head. The cries awoke and alerted the others.

Hajime asked for assistance. Mixed emotions ran through everyones bodies. They were all scared and relieved at the same time, scared because they didn't know if Mikan was completely okay or be in a state of despair, relieved because she was awake.

Hajime removed the wires that were still attached to Mikan. Wires that were used to check her vital signs.

Fuyuhiko and Soda arrived with the stretcher and placed Mikan on it. Everyone rushed out of the room except for Hajime who checked to make sure no one else was awake. After a few minutes, he then proceeded to the building's clinic where Mikan was brought to.

He entered the room and was greeted by Sonia comforting Mikan and the rest who were watching both of them. They all looked relieved and happy.

A week had passed since Mikan returned to reality. They were glad Mikan was in good physical, mental and emotional condition. There was one thing that surprised all of them though, they found out Mikan knew about what happened after her virtual death. She pointed every event out with complete accuracy.

In her words she said she became an _observer_ after her virtual death. The account of Mikan surprised everyone. It meant that everyone else had a chance that they knew the events that took place after their own virtual deaths.

This could help the healing process of broken bonds and mistrust that were caused in the virtual reality world.

After another week, the next person to wake up was the person they came to know as Togami. The same thing happened with Togami. He woke up without any complications and no signs of his despair persona appeared. He also shared a similar testimony just like Mikan's. He became an observer after the virtual death.

Everyone was hyped, their excitement grew, their hope was overflowed and filled the whole island.

The remaining students who were asleep each woke up in a random order, sometimes taking days to weeks apart before the next one would be awaken from their state.

The second person to the last who woke up was Chiaki. The first thing she saw as she woke up was a teary-eyed Hajime.

"Chiaki. I'm glad you're awake" Hajime said. She was greeted by a warm and tight hug. Chiaki felt tears well up in her eyes. She didn't want to let go of Hajime, she was glad she got to see him again.

"You guys did it! I believed in everyone. Especially you Hajime." she said.

He let go of the hug and looked into her eyes with a relieved smile.

"Is everyone awake?"

Chiaki saw a flash of pain in Hajime's eyes. He looked to the side and she followed where Hajime's eyes were fixated on. She saw her white haired classmate still in the incubator.

"Komaeda hasn't woken up yet, but the rest are okay" Hajime said looking at Chiaki with a small smile.

Everyone entered the room with excitement and cheer, flooding her with worried questions.

They were all happy and excited that she was well.

A few weeks have passed. Hajime sat beside the last person to have his consciousness return. He was a little bit nervous, but at the same time very hopeful that the boy that lay beside him would finally open his eyes.

Chiaki entered the room where the twi boys were and she looked at Hajime. A small smile on her face as she approached the boys.

"Hey Hajime, You've been spending most of your time waiting for Komaeda to wake up. We are all worried about you."

"I'm doing well Chiaki. Please don't worry about me." Hajime smiled back at her. He scooted over to let her sit beside him.

"Hajime, do you want to play with me while you wait? So you won't be bored or anything."

"No, it's fine Chiaki, I'd rather watch you play right now, If that's all right with you." Hajime said with a sheepish grin.

Chiaki pouted and stared at Hajime. She looked at Hajime's eyes and analyzed it. Chiaki knew that Hajime was sad on the inside but at the same time she also knew Hajime was trying to be strong for everyone else. She knew he was bearing his negative emotions because he didn't want to show the others the sadness he was feeling. He wanted to present himself as confident and hopeful so his friends won't feel bad for him.

"What's wrong Chiaki?" He asked.

She then took out her Game Girl Advance.

"Nothing." She said, turning on her video game console and started playing.

The room filled with the sound of beeping from the video game Chiaki was playing and the beeping of Komaeda's heart monitor.

She could feel that Hajime was half watching her and the other half was of him checking up on Komaeda the whole time she was there.

"Hey Hajime." Chiaki said without leaving her eyes on the game console's screen.

"Yeah?"

"What is Komaeda to you?"

Hajime was surprised at the sudden question. "Huh? What do you mean?" A pinkish tint radiated off of Hajime's cheeks.

"I mean… what do you think of Komaeda?" she continued. " After everything he's done on the island, How would you treat him?"

After a long pause Hajime replied. "I want to understand him more. I want to know why he did the things that he did. I know the others would still feel awkward around him, but despite everything that he's done, I'd still want to be his friend." Hajime said, blushing, his eyes looking to the floor at his side with his right hand scratching the back of his neck.

"I see." Chiaki said smiling at her game. "I'm glad." she added.

A few hours passed with a comfortable silence between the two. Chiaki noticed it was already getting late. She yawned and turned her game console off. She kept it in her pink cat backpack. She glanced over to her side to get a check on Hajime. He has already dozed off.

"Good night Hajime." Chiaki whispered, with a small smile on her face as she headed for the door.

As Chiaki walked out of the facility she remembered the moments on how she could tell Komaeda cared for the chest-nut haired boy.

During the Neo World Program, she noticed Komaeda had a genuine affection for Hajime.

She always noticed how Komaeda put in effort to get closer to the other male, but Hajime was too freaked out about Komaeda's personality after the first trial. The two got closer as time progressed even though Hajime didn't want to admit it.

She could see how Komaeda looked at Hajime. She was confident that Komaeda wanted something more than friendship with Hajime.

Even after learning that Hajime was a reserve course student, she could see that Komaeda still cared for the boy even if he mocked him for being _talentless,_ in fact Komaeda was pained when he insulted the other boy. Komaeda even questioned himself aloud on why he still cared about Hajime.

It was only Hajime who was close to breaking Komaeda's tough-built shell. It was only Hajime who Komaeda considered to be a friend.

Just like Komaeda, she too felt a deep affection towards Hajime. But after spending time with the boy earlier she could see how the affection in Hajime's eyes as he looked at the sleeping boy. Hajime stayed by his side and never left him, his eyes shone bright with hope as he waited for the other to wake up.

Komaeda needed Hajime and Hajime needed Komaeda.

With that in mind she decided that she would give up her own dreams of being with Hajime. She wanted what's best for both of the boys.

As Chiaki reached and walked outside the facility, she felt a little sadness and jealousy whelm in her but soon was replaced with warmth and love. She was at peace.

She could say she was truly happy for both of her friends.

With her head held up high, as she marched through the dark streets, she radiated with warmth, illuminating the dark night with a blanket of bright hope.


	4. Chapter 4

Hajime lifted his head and opened his eyes which were stained red by all the crying he's been doing. He checked the clock. It read 10:36pm. Around 20 minutes had passed since the cry of pleasure that came out of Chiaki's mouth. His best friend's scream of pleasure that was resulted by his lover fucking her. The cry that will forever be embedded in his mind. The cry that will haunt him for the rest of his life.

He lifted himself up, almost falling down from being too weak and dizzy. He went to the kitchen sink and splashed his face with cold water. The cool water gave him a bit of refreshment and it washed his tear-stained face clean. He tried to collect himself and relax. He was able to manage and to tame the raging emotions inside of him. He gave out a deep sigh and looked at the entryway to their bedroom.

He was staring at the room's door. The room where he and Komaeda shared everything together. The room that reminded him of their private stories that only the both of them knew. Now it was tainted. It filled Hajime with pain. He felt grief, betrayal and maybe even… regret.

He took a deep breath and entered the room slowly as if he was preparing to enter a deep cave under the dark ocean.

He saw that Komaeda and Chiaki were overtaken by the heaviness of a drunken deep sleep. He felt relieved that he didn't have to face any of them for now.

Hajime headed to the closet, avoiding looking at the two, and took his gym bag and filled it with the rest of his clothes that was left. He moved to his bedside where Komaeda was currently sleeping on. He made sure not to wake him. He opened his drawer and took all his important documents with him. He walked to the door with all his belongings.

"H-hajime" came a mumble from behind him. He recognized the owner of the voice that was calling him.

Hajime's whole body tensed, he held his breath and moved his head ever so slowly to look at where the voice was coming from, his wide eyes now looking at where his lover was sleeping. He exhaled a long deep sigh. Komaeda was sleeping, he probably was just sleep-talking.

Hajime turned back to the doorway and moved until he reached the front door. He took his suit case with his free hand and left the house without looking back.

Hajime had a few hours left before he would be leaving the island again. It was ironic, a few hours ago the first thing he wanted to do was to be back on this island, to be with Komaeda, but now he wanted to leave as soon as possible, to never see Komaeda and Chiaki again. He could feel the numbing pain on his heart nagging him again.

He walked around the island aimlessly, not caring that his legs were about to give way.

The next thing he knew, he came to a halt. He was standing in front of the Hotel. The lights of the hotel were still open which meant someone was still there.

Hajime didn't want to see anyone right now but at the same time he felt like he needed to or his sadness would eat him whole.

He hurried and entered his old cottage in front of the hotel, he was glad it was still clean and well maintained. He dropped off his things and headed to the hotel.

He took the stairs on the hotel's side, and that's when he heard two familiar voices having a conversation with each other.

"Damn it! It's been an hour since we've been cleaning this place up! Why the hell are we even the ones cleaning when it isn't even our fuckin turn!?"

"Yeah! My hands are getting all pruney from washing the dishes. I think I'm gonna cry."

"Tch! Next time I'm not gonna just let them boss me around."

Hajime stopped in the doorway of the restaurant to get a good look of two boys who were talking.

The blonde male stopped wiping the tables and approached him "Well look who it is. It's been a long time you bastard! It's good to see you again!" Fuyuhiko said beaming at Hajime giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey! did you say Hajime?" A pink haired male said peeking out of the kitchen looking at Fuyuhiko.

His eyes now meeting Hajime's. "Hajime! you're back!" he came running to hug the brown haired male.

"It's nice to see you guys again" Hajime said giving out a chuckle and letting go of the hug. He gave them the best smile he could muster at his current condition. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see them, It was just his emotions were weighing him down.

"What's wrong? you look like shit." said the smaller male.

"Yeah, did something happen to you?" added the other.

"It's nothing. I'm just tired" Hajime replied looking away from his companions and trying to hide the fact that he was lying.

"Don't feed us with that bullshit. We've all been friends for years now." Fuyuhiko said. "Look… whatever it is you know you can trust us." his cheeks flustered.

"Yeah! What he said!"

"I don't really want to talk about it right now… But I'll definitely tell you guys… just not right now." Hajime said giving them a grateful smile hoping that they would understand.

"Tch fine… whatever. Just know that we're here for you." the gangster said trying not to be embarrassed for showing touchy feely emotions.

"Whatever you need, we can do for you." Souda said displaying the sharp toothed grin of his.

"We were just finishing cleaning up, Do you want anything to drink?" Souda said

"Yeah, a beer would be great." Hajime replied, a look of sadness flashed on his eyes for a moment.

Fuyuhiko caught it but chose to say nothing.

Souda tossed him a bottle.

Hajime just plopped his body down in one of the sofas of the restaurant while Souda and Fuyuhiko continued finishing up their work.

"Hey do you guys need help?" Hajime said setting the unopened bottle down on the table.

"Yeah could you ju— Ouch!" Souda said rubbing the back of his head that Fuyuhiko just smacked.

"We got it from here!" Fuyuhiko said answering Hajime's question.

"Look something is clearly wrong with him right now. Just let him be for now. We can talk to him later." Fuyuhiko whispered to Souda.

"Yeah, Yeah. Of Course!"

"I don't know what happened to him but I've never seen him so down." His knuckles were shaking and turning white from clenching it too hard. "He probably had a fight with his dumbass boyfriend. Tch! I told him that bastard would only cause trouble."

"Hmm, yeah… Now that you mention it, they would have been together right now instead of him being here." Souda said, touching his chin, thinking of reasons why the male was sad.

"Let's just finish this and try to find out later."

"Alright." Souda said giving him a thumbs up.

Souda went back to the dishes while Fuyuhiko grabbed a broom.

Hajime fell into a trance of staring off into space again. The clinking of the glasses and plates and the footsteps of Fuyuhiko drowned slowly, his memories coming back to him like a persistent cold. His chest was tightening and his breaths were getting heavy. He didn't want to deal with this right now.

Komaeda was just swimming in his mind, all he could see was Komaeda, he could even hear Komaeda's voice ringing in his ears, calling out to him. His mind bringing him back to the feeling of Komaeda's warm skin against his own.

Komaeda.

Komaeda.

Koma—

"Hajime. Hey Hajime!" Fuyuhiko said snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"Oh hey… Sorry, I was just thinking of something." Hajime said holding his head with one hand while shaking his head slowly.

"Well we've finished cleaning. You sure you don't want to talk about it?" Souda said looking at him and raising his right eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah… don't worry about me"

"Look Hajime, If you let me, I'm going to run Komaeda over with one of the tanks back at the base. I just need to—"

"Wait what!? How do you even know this is about Komaeda." Hajime said looking at both of the boys.

"Tch, we aren't that stupid Hajime. So you better stop fucking playing around. It would be better for you to let all your feelings out so we can help." Fuyuhiko said with irritation in his voice.

"Okay fine… It does have something to do with him… But I'm not comfortable telling you guys anything yet."

"I knew it!" shouted Souda. "Just tell us when you're ready. I'm going to tie him up to a rocket and blast it to the moon."

"So if it's Komaeda you are having trouble with, where do you plan to stay in the meantime?" asked Fuyuhiko.

"You can stay over my place since we are soul-friends and all! And we can talk about Miss Sonia to get your mind over that guy." Souda said with stars shining in his eyes just from thinking about Sonia.

"Actually… I'm going on a vacation tomorrow."

"A trip?" Both boys asked at the same time.

"Yeah, Naegi told me the vacation would take three weeks including travel time starting tomorrow morning. It's going to be in a ski resort. He also said I could invite two friends. I was planning on taking Komaeda but… yeah. I know it's a bit sudden but would you guys li—."

Souda raised his fist in the air. "Heck yeah!" he said, all hyped up. "It's been a while since I've seen snow!"

"Sounds good to me. I just have to tell Peko though when I get home." Fuyuhiko said blushing not getting used to the idea of being open about his relationship with Peko to his friends. It's just been a few months ago since they started dating.

"Okay no problem. So I'll meet you guys at the pier by 5:30 in the morning?"

"That's early, but whatever. Thanks for inviting us Hajime! We've really missed you." Souda said giving him a smile. "Are you sure you're going to be okay tonight? you can always crash at my place."

"Nah, it's okay. Don't worry about me." Hajime said.

"Just call us if you need anything then. We have to go and pack then." Fuyuhiko said giving him a fist bump, Souda following suit.

"See you… and thank you" Hajime said smiling and waving at them as they left the hotel. It was comforting that he knew he wasn't alone in this, that he had friends to be there for him.

Hajime just had a pang of guilt hit him when they weren't in sight anymore. He knew he was their friend, but he felt that he wasn't there for them like they were to him just a few minutes ago. When he started dating Komaeda, all he did was hang out with the white haired male, neglecting his other friends. He missed this. He missed them. He promised himself to take better care of everyone when they get back from the trip.

Hajime opened the bottle of beer with a bottle opener that was placed on the table earlier. He took a sip of the beer and watched the stars dancing in the night sky from the hotel windows.


	5. Chapter 5

Two years and seven months ago, at around 6am, Hajime still waited and sat, facing an unconscious Nagito Komaeda.

Hajime balanced on a fine line between sleep and consciousness. Heavy bags were displayed under his eyes which gave away that he didn't have a good night's rest for days.

Waiting for the pale skinny boy to wake up was killing him. He didn't know why he cared for him for so much.

It was true they got off at a good start on the virtual island but all the good feelings from their first encounter turned to fear and confusion once Hajime learned about Komaeda's true nature during the 1st class trial.

Komaeda's eyes swirling with hope flashed through Hajime's mind. It gave a chill down to his spine.

He could picture every scene clearly, It was Komaeda who started the killing, it was he who pushed Teruteru to commit the first murder. It was he who inflicted fear and paranoia to everyone's hearts.

Komaeda's speech on hope rang through Hajime's ears. He spoke of hope obsessively over and over.

The grey-eyed boy was even willing to be killed for "greater hope" to come through, wanting to see which of his classmates would shine the brightest hope.

Indeed his obsession on hope led him to sacrificing himself so a hope-filled outcome may happen.

Despite all these things witnessed by Hajime, he still wanted to get to know the boy, to understand him, to form a bond with him.

It was more than just a spark curiosity, rather, It was a feeling he felt deep in his heart which he couldn't explain.

Every moment with Komaeda after that first class trial was filled with distress but oddly enough it also gave him a sort of inner happiness. A happiness that gave him contentment like he never felt before with anyone else.

Hajime was surprised, even if he avoided Komaeda, he could still find him trying hard to form a bond with him and trying to help him with the class trials.

Even after Komaeda learned about Hajime as a person of no talent and was part of the remnants of despair, Komaeda admitted to him he still cared for the male.

Another memory knocked on Hajime's mind, it was that of when he realized he truly cared for the boy. It was after hanging out with him for a few times, Komaeda was comfortable enough to open up to Hajime about his past: his dog meeting a fatal accident, his parents dying in front of him, being kidnapped and then released by the kidnapper himself since no one wanted to take him back, and being diagnosed with lymphoma and frontotemporal dementia. He even admitted what he desired most in life—to be loved by someone.

Although, after admitting all those things to Hajime, Komaeda told him it was all lies. At first, doubt clouded Hajime's mind but then he realized that the boy was trying to open up to him, but Komaeda took it back for some reason. _Perhaps he was afraid?_

This was when Hajime felt something for him. It wasn't that of pity but rather a feeling of wanting to protect the misunderstood boy, wanting to be there for him, wanting to show him that there was someone who truly cared for the said boy. And it was he who wanted to provide all those for him.

Hajime snapped out of his thoughts and an idea hit him. He wanted to modify Alter Ego for that could possibly wake Komaeda up. It was strange that Komaeda had been taking so long to wake up after all.

Hajime stood up and tinkered with both the Neo World Program's hardware and software.

After a couple of minutes trying to figure out what to do, no other than Chiaki was the first to show up to check on the boys just like always.

"Good morning Hajime." She greeted.

"Hey Chiaki, I think I found a way to wake komaeda up but I need everyone's help. Could you please call everyone for me?." Hajime said.

Chiaki smiled at Hajime and gave him a nod. "Yes, of course."

After a few minutes later everyone was gathered. They mumbled to each other not knowing what to expect.

"I think I've figured out why Komaeda isn't waking up." announced Hajime to his friends. Everyone looked expectant to what Hajime was going to say. "Komaeda seems to not want to wake up, his mind has created a world for him to cope with what happened in the Neo World Program. So I need everyones help. We need to modify Alter Ego to enter his mind and destroy the world he created." He said confidently.

Komaeda felt his world collapsing. Everything was hazy and then it hit him, He realized he was waking up from a long sleeping state he has been in for the past couple of months. His head throbbed as past memories flooded his mind. Memories of his school life, his past despair induced state, and the killing game on the Island.

"Hey can you hear me?" was the first thing he heard that registered in his mind. It was a familiar voice. He saw a familiar figure standing right beside him. The figure had a set of different colored eyes. One a scorching fire and the other a deep forest.

 _Was it…_ "Ahh Kamukura Izuru?" _No._ "No, uh you're Hajime Hinata right?" he said extending his hand.

"I'm both of them." Hajime said with a relieved smile.

"I should probably thank you. I believed in you. How are the others?" Komaeda asked

"Your the last one out." The doors of the Neo World Program room opened revealing all Komaeda's classmates waiting behind Hajime.

It was awkward for both boys to be around each other for the first few days. They didn't know what to say to one another. Even though they had small talk here and there from time to time.

It was only when Chiaki pushed Hajime to speak to him that he found the confidence to rekindle his relationship with Komaeda.

Hajime listened to Chiaki's advice and headed to the library to go check on him. No one was really close enough with Komaeda to really catch up with him. Most of them just felt this uneasy feeling when they were with him one-on-one, but it probably wasn't because they couldn't forgive him for what he did in the island killing game, but maybe because they found his personality to be weird and that they couldn't really get along with him.

 _Only you can understand him best_. Hajime recalled Chiaki saying those words a few minutes ago, which left him flustered.

Hajime entered the Library doors. He was greeted by a busy reading Komaeda. A thick book to his nose.

"Hey Hajime. Here to pick up something to read?" Komaeda said without leaving his eyes on the book he was reading.

"Uhm, Hey." Hajime coughed. "Actually…" He trailed off, his cheeks getting a little hot. "I came here because I wanted to hang out with you." he said in a barely audible manner.

Komaeda folded his book down and glanced over at Hajime. Komaeda had a look of surprise in his eyes. "Me? Why would you want to hang out with somebody like me?" He asked. "With the things I've done and said to you and the others… Why would you still want to be friends with trash like me?" he added.

Hajime looked at him with a bit of irritation in his eyes, he hated when Komaeda thought so lowly of himself. He wanted to show how important he was to him.

"Komaeda, I may not fully understand why you did the things you did, but right now I want to push that all aside and get to know more about you. You aren't trash, you're my friend." Hajime said with a matter-of-fact tone, his cheeks getting redder by the minute. That was the corniest thing he has ever said, but he did mean it.

Komaeda was surprised at what Hajime just said. He flashed him a genuine smile. The first genuine smile he ever displayed across his face since being woken up from the Neo World Program. He never expected Hajime calling him _friend_. He never heard those words directed to him ever in his life, even by Hajime himself during the virtual reality program but now he considered him to be his friend. He felt Lucky.

Doubts soon clouded the Happy thoughts of Komaeda's mind. _Why would such a wonderful person such as Hajime be calling him a friend?_

 _Maybe he just pity's me?_ , _Maybe he just wants to make sure I'm completely out of my despair state?_ , _Maybe the others told him to check up on me because they're afraid of me?_ were the thoughts that entered his mind, but he quickly dismissed them to enjoy this moment of being with Hajime.

The tension and awkwardness melted away between the both of them.

They talked a lot that day, about their past lives, about being students in Hope Peak's Academy, about the events that occurred in the killing game, about what Komaeda witnessed after his virtual death, about how everyone were able to get out of the comatose state, and some random topics thrown here and there.

It was the deepest conversation they had ever since Komaeda woke up.

After that day, they hanged out with each other more often, like sitting together during the breakfast meetings, hanging out on the beach, and reading books at the library.

Hajime started getting really close to Komaeda. Everytime he was near him his heart would beat fast. He would feel like he was floating on a cloud. He felt at peace and contented when he was with him.

Those feelings were on a calmer level when he used to have a crush on Chiaki. But now he saw her more of a sister or a best friend. Did that mean he liked Komaeda romantically? Komaeda was the only male he had deep feelings for. Did that mean he was Bisexual? He didn't know for sure but he was certain he never wanted to lose Komaeda again.

Hajime has been feeling those feelings for a long time now. But it was only recently that it bloomed and grew in intensity.

He panicked. He didn't know what to do.

He asked Chiaki what it was that he was feeling. Chiaki had an idea, she said _you could possibly be in love_. Hajime was set aback and didn't know how to respond to that.

Hajime quickly set that idea aside and continued by asking for some advice. She said _Tell him about your feelings, I'm sure that he feels the same way._ She said a matter-of-factly.

There was no way in hell he was ever going to admit that out loud to him, unless he was a hundred percent sure Komaeda liked him in that same way. So did he just admit to himself that he was in love with Komaeda? He was beginning to get nervous and had a few sweat drops trickling down his face.

"Look Hajime, I know that this is hard for you, but if you want, I can talk to Koma—"

"What!? Nononono. It's fine." Hajime said panicking a little.

"If this is about him not liking you back then you don't have to worry about that. I'm sure that he likes you the same way." Chiaki said in that calm voice of hers.

"But I'm not sure if I even like the guy"

"Hajime? do you remember the time I told you I was bad at dating simulator games?" She asked

"Uhm Yeah." He said not knowing where Chiaki was going with this.

"That's because I didn't know how romantic relationships worked back then. But then I found out what it was like to like somebody. I suddenly began having dreams and goals to be with that person. I could say that I'm in the same position as you are in right now, my feelings are similar to how you are feeling right now for Komaeda." She said, blushing, while twirling her fingers.

"What I'm trying to say is, I think I'm certain that you like Komaeda. And don't worry I think he likes you too. It's just up to either both of you to make the first move. But I think it should be you Hajime." Chiaki said feeling a little sad since she couldn't tell Hajime how she felt towards him before. But she was happy though that Hajime found someone who could make him happy. She just wished it could have been her.

The look in her eyes and the advice she gave made Hajime overflow with determination, but he was still afraid. He still wanted to give it a few more days to have time to ponder with the feelings he felt, just to be sure.

He moved forward and hugged Chiaki in a tight warm hug. "Thanks Chiaki."

Chiaki smiled and returned the hug. She still had feelings for Hajime but she pushed herself daily to try to move on.

She was happy enough to be by Hajime's side. Hajime was the person who taught her how to make friends with her video games, the person who was there for her when she needed someone, he was her first friend. That's why she fell for the boy.

She would cherish him in her heart forever, but she would never admit to Hajime that she was in love with him, because she wanted him to be happy. She wanted both of them happy.


	6. Chapter 6

The bedroom was filled with the sound of faint crashing waves and slow and steady breathing. The early morning sunlight was slowly creeping, touching and warming pale skin. The owner of the pale skin was stirred awake from the gentle caress of the sun.

He opened his eyes slowly, blinking it a few times. His snow colored eyelashes and messy shoulder length hair glowing from the light giving him an ethereal look. He parted his lips and gave out a sigh.

He sat up from bed and slowly stretched his body. He shut his eyes as he moved his pale hand rubbing his temples. His head was throbbing with a faint pulsating pain. He hated drinking.

He got up from bed sluggishly and looked around, the memories of last night's events coming to mind. He laid eyes on the girl that he was with that night, her back facing him. Without a word or an expression on his face, he left the room and went for the shower.

The burning hot water ran down his skin, making his skin blush. He rubbed a wash towel hard against his body to try to rid himself of last night's sin. His cold eyes just staring at the pitter patter of water around his feet.

He turned off the shower and got dressed in his usual clothing: his trademark green jacket over a white scoop neck shirt, his plain black jeans, and his brown shoes.

He turned on the coffee machine filling the empty kitchen with the sound of the machine buzzing. The room instantly flooded by the dark bean's aroma.

He threw away the littered bottles of beer as he waited patiently for the coffee to be done brewing. A sound of a click told him that it was ready. He poured his coffee into a plain brown mug and sat down and took a sip of the black bitter liquid.

He looked at the clock. It was forty-five minutes before the whole gang would gather in the hotel restaurant to eat breakfast.

He heard shuffling in the bedroom. Komaeda didn't really mind the sound and continued on, staring at the scenery outside the window and taking another sip of his coffee.

After a few minutes Chiaki stepped outside of the bedroom door. Her gaze was cast down to the floor, not wanting look at Komaeda in the eyes. She looked pale and sickly. She quickly grabbed her bag on the couch and left the house without saying a word.

Komaeda just sat there, expressionless. He was still gazing at the distant blurry fine line that separated the ocean from the sky.

Komaeda entered the Hotel restaurant, greeting everyone with a smile. "Good morning!" He said but just like always no one really bothered to greet him back. His cheery smile never leaving his face.

He looked around the room and saw that everyone was going by their own business, talking to each other.

He saw that Chiaki was seated beside Ibuki, Sonia and Mikan. Nekomaru with Gundham and Togami, the ultimate imposter. And Saoinji was with Mahiru while Peko, Fuyuhiko, Souda and Akane weren't in the restaurant yet.

He headed for his usual corner where he sat alone for the time being since Hajime wasn't there with him.

Sometimes Fuyuhiko and Souda sat beside him, but he figured they just felt bad for him but still he felt honored that they sat with someone like him.

As for Chiaki, she sat with him at times but she usually sits with the girls, and given the situation that happened last night, she probably won't be approaching him for a very long time if not for the rest of their lives.

As he was about to sit down at his usual spot, he heard a voice filled with restlessness, questioning everyone. "Has anyone seen my special soup?" Teruteru said. He was sweating and looking around in a frantic state by the kitchen doorway.

"I'm starving!" Akane shouted, just entering the restaurant. "Hey Teruteru, is the food ready yet?" she grinned, excited to eat. Her boisterous voice drew everyone's attention to her.

"Uhm, Yeah I just finished plating but have you se—"

"Okay then! lets start eating!" she cheered.

"But Akane, We can not just start eating with the rest of our friends having not arrived yet." Sonia said while Peko entered the restaurant. "Oh! there's Peko." She pointed at the silver haired swordswoman.

"Hey Peko, where's Fuyuhiko?" Akane asked knowing that the pair always arrived at the restaurant together. "My stomach is Rumbling!" She said, getting a little impatient.

"Oh, didn't Hajime tell you guys? He went on a trip with Fuyuhiko and Souda." Peko replied with a calm voice.

"How could he tell us if he was still on that business trip with the Future Foundation? Did he call you?" questioned the ultimate imposter.

"I didn't see him," She said, her pointing finger near her chin which indicated she was trying to recall the events. "but Fuyuhiko said he arrived last night. The first thing he told me was that they were going on a trip together. They supposedly left this morning." she said in a serious tone with her arms crossed around her.

Everyone looked at Komaeda for an explanation. But he just gave them a smile.

Everyone waited for a response from him but soon after realizing that they won't get any, they started mumbling to one another, wondering why Hajime left without telling them.

A bit of sadness was felt in the air. They just felt hurt and disappointed at Hajime.

They knew he was busy with work, but they wondered why he didn't bother to tell them he was coming home yesterday. Plus he's been drifting away from everyone lately. He just didn't hang out with them like he used to ever since he and Komaeda started dating two years ago.

"Why doesn't Komaeda tell us where Hajime is?"

"What if he didn't even tell Komaeda?"

"Wh-what if he doesn't come b-back?"

"Don't be stupid of course he is you filthy pig!"

"Those boys…"

Questions and mumbling were being thrown around the room.

Everyone's attention was averted when they heard someone ask "Hey Chiaki? Are you okay?".

All eyes were now on Chiaki.

Her hood was up with her hands hanging tight on the front of it, stretching it down to cover her eyes.

The room fell silent and a sobbing sound could be heard. Tears could be seen dripping down Chiakis hands.

"Don't worry Chiaki, I know you miss Hajime. I'm sure he'll be back soon." said Komaeda, everyones attention now directed at him, who was standing close to the crying girl.

He just gave a calm smile but everyone was suspicious of him. Before any questions could be directed at him he left the restaurant.

Chiaki didn't speak, she just sat their with her face covered. Crying.

Everyone tried to comfort her but she didn't respond.


	7. Chapter 7

Cold air pressed against the faces of the three young males who were covered in thick and warm clothing which were provided by the Future foundation. Their packed bags surrounded them sitting on the snow.

They were standing on top of a hill overlooking a small village, with the ski-resort that they would be staying in at the far end of it.

The town had a warm and friendly vibe to it. The little wooden houses giving of light that gave an orange hue to the snow. It gave Hajime a sort of nostalgia feel, not because he visited the place before (a-matter-of-fact it was his first time so see such a snow-covered village first-hand), but probably because the village looked similar to those of the villages in RPG games that Chiaki used to play. Hajime used to watch her play those games for hours, it kind of relaxed him in a way. The sudden reminder gave Hajime's heart a jolt of pain.

The wind blew.

"Whoa! It's been a while since the last time I've seen so much snow!" The pink-haired male said. Stars were appearing in his eyes that were now filled to the brim with childlike glee.

"Tch! I like the snow but I hate this goddamn cold." said the shorter male. His body was shivering. "We've been walking for 10 minutes straight from the dock. I just want to get to the resort and get warm already."

Hajime scanned the surrounding. He tried to keep an unfazed expression steady on his face but his lips betrayed him. It was twitching.

"Hey! what's wrong Hajime?" Souda said looking a little concerned. "You aren't thinking of what just happened a few days ago, are you?"

"It's nothing." Hajime replied.

Hajime knew he was going to a ski resort; a place showering with snow. But what he didn't expect was that the snow reminded him of the person he was trying to rid off from his mind for the past couple of days. It reminded him of his white haired lover (or ex-lover?), Komaeda.

Everywhere he looked he saw snow: snow-covered trees, snow covered houses, snow-covered mountains, snow-covered rocks, snow-covered snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, and snow.

"Fuck." He muttered to himself.

"It doesn't seem like nothing." Fuyuhiko said.

"Well, maybe if you told us, we could help you out." Souda said placing his arm over Hajime's shoulder's.

Hajime huffed, a little annoyed at the constant reminder. It's not that he didn't want to tell them his problem, it's just that he wasn't ready to share it yet.

"Cheer up man! We've got this whole new world to explore for a couple of days." Souda said patting Hajime's back.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we could watch Souda fuck-up in his attempts to skiing." Fuyuhiko said with a grin.

"No way! I'll have you know I'm a pro at skiing!" Souda retorted.

Hajime chuckled at their banter. He was really thankful that they were there. He was thankful for the both of them.

"Let's get going!" Souda shouted. He picked up his bags and ran down the hill. "The last person to arrive will treat us dinner!" He rushed causing him to trip on a rock. He rolled down the hill screaming.

"Oh fuck!" panicked Fuyuhiko.

Both Hajime and Fuyuhiko grabbed their bags and carefully ran after the tumbling boy.

Komaeda was sitting at the center of the library. The busy male was surrounded by stacks of books with a variety of topics.

It was quiet except for the faint sounds of waves crashing. It added more to the relaxing atmosphere of the library.

The creaking sound of the huge doors opening disturbed him from his concentration. He didn't look up from the book to know who it was.

Slow and steady footsteps approached him. He placed the book down on to the table as the footsteps came to a halt. "Ah, Chiaki, so nice of you to join me." He smiled.

Her red-stained eyes with heavy dark bags under it gave away that she'd been crying and probably had no sleep for days. "Why do you look so calm? Aren't you worried about Hajime?" she said with a weak voice. "Look, it was a mistake. I didn't know what I wa—"

"Chiaki." Komaeda interrupted. "Don't worry about it. Everything's gonna be just fine. I am the SHSL lucky student after all."

Komaedas care-free attitude towards the situation at hand made Chiaki uncomfortable and confused. She gave Komaeda a worried expression.

"Komaeda, for what I did… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that to you and Hajime." Her eyes began to tear up again. She was getting dizzy. She placed her hands on the table to steady herself up.

The memories of the things that took place flooded her once again. She could clearly recall most of it.

They were at the monthly dinner party held in the Hotel restaurant. The sound of music filled the room. There were colorful decorations in every corner giving the place a vibrant look. Happy smiles were plastered on their friends who were cheering and dancing. The aroma of Teruteru's cooking lingering in the air. But there was one thing that caught her attention the most. It was Komaeda who was standing by himself near the buffet area that Teruteru prepared.

She approached Komaeda. She scanned the grey-eyed male, he had small smile on his face and he was drinking a bottle of beer.

"Hey Komaeda." She greeted.

He nodded back with a smile.

They began chatting and had small-talk. They chatted about a bunch of random topics. One thing led to the other then their conversation was centered on Hajime.

"So do you know when Hajime is coming back?" Chiaki asked him.

To Chiaki, Komaeda looked down. Her guess on why sadness was radiating off Komaeda was because Hajime was taking a while to return to the island. She too felt the same way, but she chose to keep it to herself.

"No, he hasn't told me anything yet." He said with a serious expression. "Oh hey, do you want me to get you a drink? They've got a lot of beer. Souda smuggled a whole crate of them from a foreign ship just this morning." He said changing the topic.

"Oh no— umm." she hesitated.

It was too late he walked off to get a bottle and returned and tossed it to her.

"I guess I could try it. I've never drank alcohol before." She said looking at the cold wet bottle in her hand.

They continued chatting for a while and finished their bottles of beer. They watched as their friends were having a good time.

As the party was starting to heat up, almost everyone was on the dance floor dancing to Ibuki's music. She ran her hand across the electric guitar fretboard while rocking the lead vocals. Akane and Togami finished half of the buffet already and continued to stuff their faces. Nekomaru wasn't anywhere to be seen, he was probably using the toilet.

Komaeda and Chiaki just stood there enjoying each other's company, both not really into dancing.

"Hey, I think I'm heading home." Komaeda shouted at Chiaki for his voice to be heard over the loud music.

"Can I come over? Maybe we can catch up some more and play video games like we used to do with Hajime." She shouted back with a smile.

Komaeda nodded. He grabbed more bottles of beer and placed it in a bag to take home. "For later." he mouthed.

They walked the empty streets under the moonlight. The night's breeze touching their faces. The music was still blaring behind them, but becoming softer as they were nearing the house. The bottles were clinking in the bag Komaeda was carrying. They continued on in a comfortable silence.

They reached the house and Chiaki dropped her backpack on the couch and sitted herself on the dining room chair. Her gaming console already on hand.

Komaeda was at the kitchen counter fixing up the bottles and opened two of them placing one in font of Chiaki's. He sat across Chiaki and smiled at her. He took another sip of the golden liquid.

"So, what do you want to play?" Chiaki said.

"Let me just grab the Nantendo from the room and we can browse the games we can play."

Chiaki gave him a nod and puffed her cheeks as she waited patiently.

He came back and they chose the game to play together.

They played while drinking their beer. Time flew and Chiaki didn't know how much she drank.

Chiaki's cheeks were getting hot and she was getting a bit tipsy but she continued on playing.

She beat Komaeda again for another round and looked up at him.

"Aha you really are the SHSL gamer Chiaki." he said with amazement in his tone.

Chiaki smiled and just continued staring at Komaeda… Komaeda's cute face…

Komaeda looks so attractive, she thought.

Her mind was starting to get dizzy from thinking about him in such a lustful way. Her breaths getting heavier by the second.

"Hey Chiaki, is everything okay?"

She stood up abruptly and stood in front of Komaeda who was now also standing. She approached him and he backs up slowly until his back was to the kitchen counter. Their eyes met and they continued to stare at each other for a few more seconds. She could smell his alcohol breath from the close proximity of their faces. Her whole face was getting red now, and a tinge of pink crept across Komaeda's.

She grabbed Komaeda by the back of the neck to pull him in close and kissed him on the lips. Komaeda returned the kiss and carried her while her legs wrapped around him for support. Their lips crashing together. Moans were starting to fill the air.

He carried her to the bedroom bumping at the wall at times.

The next thing she knew clothes were being thrown across the bedroom. Skin meeting skin.

She would never forget what followed. It was permanently scarred into her mind.

It haunted her, knowing that she betrayed Hajime in the most horrible way possible. She knew how deeply in love Hajime was with Komaeda. And she took it all away from him.

And the worst thing was she was fully aware of what she was doing. She couldn't blame the alcohol but she definitely could blame herself, for her uncontrollable desire. It came from nowhere.

It surprised her really. She never saw Komaeda in that kind of way before. Or maybe she always had those kinds of feelings for Komaeda deep inside her, she just didn't know for sure? Probably. But why wasn't she looking at him now the same way she looked at him that night? Maybe because she felt guilty? Maybe because she knew she ruined the relationship of the three of them? Possibly.

She was so confused. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"Don't be sorry Chiaki. You did nothing wrong." Komaeda smiled.

"What is that?… A smile? Why isn't he bothered? Is this his defense mechanism, to be pretending like nothing between them happened? Why did he even let me kiss him? Maybe… he doesn't even care about Hajime to start with?" Chiaki thought to herself. She always knew Komaeda loved the boy but perhaps she was wrong.

Anger was starting to brew inside of her. She was mad at the boy for being too calm about this, but she couldn't bring herself up to accuse him of not caring for the feelings of their brown haired friend. Who knows where he might have gone to? Who knows when he's coming back? Who knows what's going to happen between them?

There was one thing she knew though. She knew she started it all. So who was she to question the white haired boy? She blamed herself for everything that happened. If she didn't give in to her lust none of this would have happened. Hajime would have been home by now. He probably would have been hanging out with both of them right now.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Everything's fine." he said. He grabbed his book back from the table and started reading again.

Chiaki wanted to ask more questions but her frustration and confusion rendered her speechless. She just did what she could do. She walked back to the doors to make her exit.

"Oh Chiaki, I assume that you haven't told the others yet. Don't tell anyone what you and I did. It would make things more complicated and hard for you."

That's right. Their friends didn't know. She felt too guilty to admit what she did. She was too ashamed. She was filled with remorse.

A few days ago, back at the restaurant after Komaeda left, she just agreed to what Komaeda said. That she was crying because she simply missed Hajime.

Their looks were that of disbelief but they brushed it off, not wanting to make her feel worse. So they didn't press her on the issue and just continued to comfort her.

She felt like scum. She didn't deseve their comfort.

"Wh-why are you so calm about all this?" She choked out. Tears continued to flow out of her eyes even more. "Don't you care about Hajime?" She asked facing the door, not wanting to look him in the eyes. "Don't you love him?"

She waited for a response. When she didn't receive any, she pushed the heavy wooden doors and made her exit.

The sound of glasses clinking, and people's chitchat rang in Hajime's ears. He was sitting on a bar stool with another glass of a random alcoholic drink he ordered. He didn't care what kind of alcohol it was. He didn't drink for the taste he drank for the numbness it gave.

His two friends were sitting on his right. Souda was talking about Sonia while Fuyuhiko looked bored out of his mind.

It was Fuyuhiko's idea to visit the local bar. He said something about wanting to get warm via alcohol and wanting to have a good time. Hajime didn't really pay attention since he was too busy being the depressed guy that he was.

His mind was already floating thanks to the Alcohol.

"We'll be right back Hajime. We just need to visit the toilet." Souda said.

Hajime gave out a sarcastic laugh to himself when they left. They weren't really gonna use the toilet. They just wanted to talk privately about him since they were obviously concerned, even though he told them a million times that he was okay.

He rolled his eyes. He was perfectly fine! There was nothing to worry about! Pfft!

A tall slender woman caught his eye. She sat beside him on his left. Hajime looked at her and blushed. She was gorgeous.

"Hey there cutie." She greeted Hajime with a wink. "I've never seen you before. You're probably visiting from another place hm?" She asked. Her smooth voice was making Hajime's spine tingle.

"Uh… Yeah." Hajime replied. "Real smooth Hajime." He thought to himself.

She took her order from the bartender and they chatted for a bit.

He stared at her and dirty thoughts entered his mind. He tried to kill those thoughts.

She could see the attraction present in Hajime's eyes. She placed a hand on Hajime's thigh, rubbing the muscle up and down while her face got closer and closer to his.

Hajime gulped and panicked. He knew he wanted to kiss her, not just because she was beautiful but mainly because he was in pain and wanted payback for what Chiaki and Komaeda did to him.

"I'm sorry." He said, he dropped a few bills of money on the bar, got his coat and rushed out. He bolted on the snowy streets not minding that it was snowing outside.

He loved both Komaeda and Chika too much to do it despite what they did.

"If I loved Komaeda so much and couldn't bring myself to cheat on him how could he do it to me." he asked himself.

"Oi! Hajime." Souda said with Fuyuhiko right beside him. Both running after Hajime.

Hajime slowed his pace down and stopped. He didn't look back. He was still looking at the distance.

They were able to catch up with Hajime, they stopped right behind him to catch their breath.

"We saw everything." Fuyuhiko said in between breaths.

Souda grabbed Hajime's shoulder to turn him around. "Hey, are you okay?" They saw fresh tears running down his cheek.

They were sitting down in Hajime's room, huddled around the fireplace. Each one having a small blanket that covered each of them.

The cracking of the fireplace filled the silence until…

"What!? Chiaki and Komaeda!?" shouted Souda.

"I never would have thought of Chiaki doing such a thing. But Komaeda… tch… those bastards!" Fuyuhiko said.

"What's their deal? I don't even think they liked each other that much." Souda added, scratching his head.

Hajime just stayed silent. He watched the dancing fire in front of him.

"Look, whatever happens, we are here for you. Got it!?" Fuyuhiko said.

"Yeah!… You should have kissed the girl while you had the chance. She looks so pretty! But only 2nd to Miss Sonia of course!" Souda giggled.

"You deserve so much better." Fuyuhiko said. He blushed a little.

"So what are you planning to do?" Souda asked Hajime.

"I don't know." Hajime said. It was an honest answer. He both felt love and hate for Komaeda and Chiaki.

After a long pause the room fell in silence.

Hajime smiled a little from his thoughts. Hajime was really glad that he invited both of them. Those two are like brothers to are always there whenever he needs them. Yeah, they had their low moments: petty quarrels to full-blown fights, but what kind of friends didn't? Just like what Souda usually says, with no doubt in his mind, Hajime considered them "soul-friends", indeed.

"Well fuck both of them." Fuyuhiko said breaking the silence.

Hajime gave out a laugh. A real laugh. He hadn't felt light like that since "that" night.

He stretched both of his hands and grabbed each of his friends who were seated on each side of Hajime and pulled them closer to give them a hug.

Hajime just smiled while they complained about the tight hug.

Life would have been hell right now for Hajime. But thanks to Fuyuhiko and Souda he felt better.


	8. Chapter 8

"It was just like three weeks ago." Hajime thought. The sound of burbling water surrounded him. The rushing cold night-wind rustled his clothes and made his hair dance in the moonlight. An island was far into the distance, surrounded by the dark ocean. He was on his way home again.

The only difference of him approaching the island now from three weeks ago was, he wasn't alone. He wouldn't be facing what was ahead of him on his own because he had his friends by his side.

The three of them were in content-silence, resting on the ship's railings, watching the island as it gradually grew bigger as they were nearing it. It was such a breathtaking view. The island was giving off an orange glow, while the stars danced above it. Hajime gave a small sad smile at the scene. He was happy to be coming back home but at the same time he was nervous of what would be taking place and what he has was about to face on the island.

He was also feeling thankful though for the three weeks the future foundation has given him. He couldn't imagine what he would have done or what might have happened if he wasn't given the vacation period. Those three weeks may have been too short for him to fully reflect on what occurred prior to their trip, but thanks to his companions the heaviness he felt from before became an easier weight to lift. He was really thankful for the both of them.

The three friends had a great time on the ski trip. They all had the same opinion; that the best part of the trip wasn't the skiing and the traveling they did on the snowy paradise, but it was how they bonded together.

Not only that, but their time together gave Hajime an eye-opening realization; He shouldn't have made his relationship with Chiaki and Komaeda the center of his life, but it should have included his relationship with everyone else on the island.

He was saddened to admit that he neglected the others, once he and Komaeda became boyfriends.

For the past years, since that time, he could say that he only concentrated on the relationship he had with Komaeda all the while ignoring his relationship with the others which he deeply regretted.

It wasn't hanging out with his white-haired lover that he regretted though. He could say that some of the most memorable moments of his life were the things he did with Komaeda. That is probably why it stung so much when he found out his boyfriend was cheating on him. Plus it was with his best friend to boot.

Hajime gave out a deep sigh as he tightly clutched the railings.

Honestly he wasn't ready to face Chiaki and Komaeda yet. But whatever lay ahead of him, especially if things ended up badly, he knew he could count on his friends for support.

"Hey, are you gonna be okay?" Fuyuhiko gave Hajime a small smile.

"Probably." Hajime said. His eyes still on the island.

"Don't forget what we told you," Souda reminded, lifting his pointing finger up in the air. "You have to talk to them, but only when you're ready." he said, like a parent giving advice to his child. "But just in case, if things don't go well. I have my tanks ready." He gave a toothy grin.

"Yeah, yeah yeah. Thanks guys." Hajime smiled and rolled his eyes playfully, trying to forget the anxiety building up in him.

The three males arrived on the island and set foot on it's wooden boards. A figure stood in the center on the other end of the dock.

Hajime's two companions looked at him and he gave them a nod. They knew that was the signal for them to leave. They got their bags, and greeted the figure as they passed by the person.

As soon as the two were far into the distance, Hajime approached the shaking figure who was trying to wait patiently. It was clear that the person was nervous. Without saying a word to the person waiting he moved to the center of the beach as the person followed him.

He sat down on the sand, facing the horizon of the ocean and the sky. In Hajime's mind It looked something like an empty void waiting to devour the whole island. It made him feel small and vulnerable. He gazed up into the sky instead and saw a multitude of stars with the strip of milky way making the other stars look dull in comparison.

The person sat down a few feet away from him and watched the sky too. They sat there in silence, listening to the waves. Both were trying hard to forget what just happened. If only it were possible to erase the past then none of them would have to face this. But of course they needed to if they wanted to rekindle the relationship they had.

"H-Hajime," came the weak voice. Already in the verge of tears.

"How'd you know we were arriving today?" Hajime asked with coldness to his voice. He shifted his gaze from the stars to the void. He didn't want to look at the person he was talking to right now.

The person fidgeted because of Hajime's tone. "I didn't."

"hm?"

"I waited by the beach everyday. Peko wasn't sure on the exact day when you guys were coming back. And I tried calling you every time but you couldn't be reached. I was scared."

Hajime felt a pang in his chest. Why did he even remotely feel bad for this person? He knew they didn't deserve it. They betrayed him. The people closest to him… stabbed him in the back.

He clenched his fists with the sand under his palms. He bit his lips to fight back the angry tears forming in his eyes.

"W-why?" he choked out.

"H-Hajime."

"H-how could you?" he was furious. The tears began to form.

"Hajime… I'm s-so sorry"

"I—" He turned his head, his green and red orbs meeting pink ones.

Chiaki had tears running down her face. And just like one big wave hitting shore and being pulled back into the ocean, his anger was completely washed away with it, leaving his body. It was the second time in his life to see her cry like that, and it hurt him. The memory of the first time he witnessed her cry invaded his mind.

He had long, black, messy hair that went all the way down to his calves. Both his eyes were glowing crimson. His past memories were lost. His heart, devoid of all emotions.

He stood there in his black suit looking down at the girl who was impaled by spears. Her whole body was filled with holes. She was running out of blood as tears were flowing down from her eyes.

She used the last of her strength to talk to the male. "I wanted to play another game with H-Hajime." She said in a cracked voice. She reached out to him with her blood covered hands. "W-We could've played more games together." Her hand fell to the floor and her whole body went limp.

He picked up Chiaki's 8-bit spaceship clip and looked at it out of curiosity. His vision started blurring. He could feel something warm run down his cheeks. He touched it and realized it was his own tears. He didn't know why he was crying. He looked back at her and saw that her life was quickly slipping away. He didn't know why he had the urge to help the dying girl in front of her.

He scooped her up and bolted through the hallways to find the nearest room and a medical kit. He treated and closed up her wounds with amazing speed and precision. He used every fiber of medical knowledge and talent he had to save the girl. He pondered upon himself on why he was doing the things he was doing, why had he helped the girl that he just met a few minutes ago, why had he cried for her.

He stitched her up and covered her in bandages. He was finally done. He sat down on a chair beside her to keep an eye on her.

He spent the next days monitoring and taking care of her. She was still asleep and wouldn't wake up.

"What do you need from her?" came a voice by the doorway. It was Junko. A wicked smile was displayed on her lips.

No response.

"Well, at least my use for her spreading despair into her classmates hearts was accomplished." She said followed by a menacing laugh "I have no more use of her." her features and tone changing to seriousness "If her classmates ever find out, they might have a glimmer of hope ignited in their hearts." She paused for a moment then said "And we can't have that.".

He stared at her with an emotionless gaze. "I'll take care of it."

He remembered it so vividly. One thing's for sure, Even though Chiaki hurt him, he definitely didn't want to lose Chiaki. She was precious to him.

The sound of whimpering brought him back. He scooted over beside Chiaki and gave out a deep sigh. "Okay, tell me what happened?"

She looked him in the eyes and said "I don't know. We were at a party… and we drank a-and we got home and… and we played some video games then I-I kissed him…" She said trying to hold it together. She was clearly feeling remorse. "I-I don't want to lose you again Hajime." She whispered. Her eyes: pleading her hands: trembling.

Hajime just sat there without a word. He brought his right hand to rub his temples. He didn't know what to do. He tried to think of something to say.

"Hajime, I don't expect you to forgive me. What I did was horrible. And I don't deser—"

"Chiaki, I do want to forgive you…" Hajime bit his lip. "But I don't know if I can yet. I don't even know if I can trust you right away." He pulled his legs closer to his chest. "I need more time but I still want to try to make things work."

"Okay." Chiaki wiped her tears, smiled a small smile and looked at him in the eyes. "Thank you Hajime." Hajime's answer didn't mean that she was casted away from his life, but it also didn't mean she was totally forgiven, she was thankful that their relationship had an opportunity to be restored. "Thank you so much."

He walked Chiaki back to her house. He didn't have to but he wanted to, just like old times.

"Hajime I'd like to thank you again for talking to me and for thinking of giving me another shot. I know I don't deserve it but I want to be your friend, even if I have to do so much work to rebuild your trust and our friendship again." She smiled a hope-filled smile.

Hajime looked at her for a while and then he grabbed her into a tight hug and smiled.

At first she was shocked at the sudden touch but then she relaxed into the hug and hugged him back.

They stayed like that for a while and then they parted and said their good nights. Hajime left with his heavy bags on hand.

Hajime walked to the direction of his cottage where he was going to stay for the night then he saw the home he and Komaeda built together.

He fixed his gaze back to the empty paved streets and didn't dare to look back.

He left the next challenges for tomorrow. All he wanted to do was sleep

He kept walking as the night grew quieter and colder.

His footsteps echoing in the streets.


	9. Chapter 9

p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime slowly opened his eyes and adjusted his hazy vision. He glanced over to the digital clock that was resting on his bedside class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Crap…"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanHe said under his breath. He slowly got up from bed and stretched his groggy body./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He was thirty minutes late for breakfast with his friends but he didn't mind because it was the first time in three weeks he had been able to get a long good night's rest. He plodded across the bedroom as he moved towards the bathroom to shower./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The shower relaxed and soothed him as hot water touched his body. The mesmerizing massage of droplets relaxed him and brought his mind into a deep thought. His contemplation lead him to linger on the events of three weeks ago. After a while, he got hit by one of those gut-feelings: a bad one. He felt dread and a voice in his head told him not to talk to Komaeda. It was a similar feeling to when he had returned on the island and was standing in front of their home. He had never felt so much pain and sorrow in his entire life as he had that class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He didn't have this feeling with his encounter with Chiaki last night but why did it come when he thought of conversing with Komaeda?span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanHe quickly dismissed the thought, he didn't want to think about it, not right class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He jumped out of the shower, changed and headed for the door./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He got anxious as he approached the hotel stairs that lead to the dining area. "What if Komaeda is there? Would he sit beside the boy?" He didn't want to, even though he knew he needed to talk to the class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He wanted to clear things up as soon as possible. He was tired of the constant paranoia that nagged his mind every time he was alone with his thoughts. He needed to know if he could possibly mend the relationship he and Komaeda had, to see whether he could continue to stay with the white-haired male as his lover or end their relationship but stay as friends. If it ever came to the latter situation, he didn't want to end the relationship completely, even if it meant that they were only friends. Komaeda was that precious to the brunette./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime was always plagued with dreams that both of them would end the relationship and never be friends again. This gave him more doubts. What if Komaeda didn't love him anymore? If he did love him, he would have never done that with class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Even though these thoughts were a constant disturbance to Hajime he still clung to hope. Whatever his mind had been telling him, he wanted it to be wrong, he wanted to be with Komaeda./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime pushed the negative thoughts aside as he reached and entered the dining area. It looked like everyone was done eating and were now chatting with each other. He couldn't see any sign of messy white hair anywhere. His anxiety was completely flushed out of his system. He sighed with relief./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Hey Hajime!" shouted Souda, grabbing the attention of everyone. Now every eye was on class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Good morning." he said in a sheepish manner — it's been so long since he last saw them./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Everyone stood up abruptly and glared at Hajime. They walked towards him and surrounded / br / "Uhh… Is everything okay?" he said backing up a / br / "Where have you been!?. Don't you know how worried we were getting?"br / br / "Why'd you leave right away when you just arrived 3 weeks ago huh? Why didn't you say anything!?"br / br / "Didn't you know you made Chiaki cry!? She was worried sick!"/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Ibuki thinks you stopped caring for Chiaki and the rest of us."br / br / "Hajime, you were a leader to us all but you surely failed the team."br / br / Everyone who didn't have any clue on what happened shouted and threw accusations at Hajime. They surrounded him, forcing him against a wall. Fuyuhiko and Souda tried to calm everyone down but nobody was listening./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Everyone stop." came a calm but commanding voice. Hajime's eyes widened in surprise when he saw who was standing in front of him, protecting him from the upset class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Chiaki had her arms spread wide, with puffed up cheeks, and a serious look directed at their angry friends, blocking anyone who dare come close to Hajime. br / br / Everyone fell to silence./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Hajime didn't do anything wrong." she said. "The reason behind him leaving w-was all m-my—" she began / br / "Chiaki, you don't have to do this." Hajime whispered to / br / "No, I want to. I've felt guilty for so long. I told no one and hid in shame. But I want to stand up because of you Hajime. I want to admit my mistakes and I choose not to run away this time." she said smiling at Hajime. "This is my fault." she said, facing back at the crowd. "I… I was with Komaeda when Hajime returned from his business trip."/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Everyone looked at Chiaki with a confused / br / "Komaeda and I did some things…" She continued, feeling ashamed as memories of what she did with the boy came flying into mind. "But it wasn't his fault either. I'm the one who made the first move, I kissed him," she took a deep breath. "which led us to the bedroom." she closed her eyes, wanting to cry. She knew she didn't deserve anyone's forgiveness./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"A sort of peace welled up inside her. She knew she did the right thing: admitting her wrong and standing up for Hajime./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"She felt a hand grip on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Hajime with a soft smile. It gave her joy to see him smile at her like that class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He pulled her into a tight hug and whispered in her ear. "Thank you."/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Everyone was shocked at Chiaki's sudden confession. They all approached Hajime and Chiaki with arms wide open. They asked for forgiveness from Hajime and comforted the both of class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"They knew what Chiaki did was wrong. Some had feelings of anger sprout inside of them but was quickly replaced by love when they saw that she gave a genuine apology. They were sure she wouldn't do the same mistake again./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime watched the ocean, mesmerized by the flow of water. He was seated on the sand under a palm tree that kept him cool while he was in deep class="Apple-converted-space" /spanIt's been hours since breakfast and he hasn't seen the white-haired male anywhere. He was still afraid to talk to the said male, he didn't know what to expect from class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime didn't look for him since he was scared of the "what if's?": what if one of the outcomes is losing his boyfriend forever. Paranoia, anxiety and sadness pooled in his mind as he sat there pondering./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"When he finally told himself he couldn't take it anymore, he gathered all the courage and stood up and marched his way onto the home he used to reside in./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He was now standing in front of the familiar door. His heart was beating fast and he was sweating heavily. He knocked. Past memories flooded into his mind; whenever he arrived home and went through the doorway, he always found his lover to be cooking or reading or lazing around, once his boyfriend noticed that Hajime was home Hajime always gets greeted by a bright warm smile then gets tackled into a hug or kissed by the white-haired male. But right now, he wasn't expecting any of those./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime believed that his boyfriend would be remorseful, would have an alibi with what he did and would not have any feelings towards Chiaki. In that case forgiveness and forgetting would be easier. And both of them would continue to stay together./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The door opened and his heart sank at the sight of the other male./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Hey Hajime."span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanKomaeda greeted him with a care-free smile on his face. He stepped aside so Hajime could enter. Hajime entered the house and Komaeda shut the door behind class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""It's been a while." Komaeda commented./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He looked… great like he wasn't sad at all, while Hajime himself looked like shit./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Uhm… yeah… It's been a while." Hajime said feeling heavy like a bag of stones. He wasn't expecting Komaeda to be relaxed and… happy? What was wrong with Komaeda? Didn't he know that he arrived three weeks ago? "Komaeda… I arrived three weeks ago." he said trying to let him know where he was getting at. Maybe no one told him that he arrived three weeks ago?/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Yeah, I know." He replied with a small smile./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime's eye twitched. He wasn't expecting that as a response. This was getting annoying. So he didn't know that he caught both of them in the act? or is he just playing dumb? Hajime's blood began to boil and he tried to compose himself. Didn't Komaeda understand what was going on? "Yeah!? and I saw you sleeping with my best friend!" he shouted, unable to control his anger./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Yeah, I know."/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The anger in his body that wanted to break free a second ago was now completely gone. It was replaced by a deep sorrow like he lost everyone and everything he has ever loved in his life. It seemed like Komaeda knew what he did wrong… and he didn't care./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""What W-Wh-Why? Why'd you sleep with her?" Hajime started trembling./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Because I wanted to."/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime didn't respond. Komaeda didn't care that he knew and he slept with Chiaki because he wanted to… Hajime didn't know how to respond to class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Look, Hajime, I've been thinking a lot lately and I've decided that you and I should stop seeing each other." he / br / Hajime just stood in place, like he was frozen in time. He tried to move his lips but no sound came out. This was exactly the opposite of what he wanted./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""So do you want me to move out?span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanor—"/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""W-why?" Hajime said in a barely audible and weak voice./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Well, like I've told yo—"br / br / "Why didn't you say anything? Why did you have to sleep with Chiaki without breaking up with me first? couldn't you wait instead of hurting me like this?"/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be in a relationship with me. This was all my doing actually. Chiaki didn't really want to kiss me in the first place." Komaeda replied but he ignored the other / br / "What the fuck do you mean!? Chiaki kissed you and it led you two to have sex!" He shouted. The rage started to flow through his veins./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I made her kiss me."span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"The words echoed in Hajime's head. He was confused. "But she told me she kissed you."/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Do you remember when I told you about Teruteru's special soup? The aphrodisiac? Well I got a hold of it and put a few drops in Chiaki's beer while she was busy playing her game." He explained to Hajime like in the past class trials. "The intoxication from the beer and the feeling you get from the aphrodisiac made her kiss me." He class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. Everything that was happening was surreal to him. She didn'tspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanhave to go through this. She didn't deserve any of this. If Komaeda had feelings for her then why didn't he ask her? Something snapped inside Hajime. Hajime grabbed the boy by the shirt and shoved him hard into the wall. His eyes glowing with outrage./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""So you raped chiaki!? Why didn't you just ask her out?" he shouted at Komaeda's face. br / br / The male was now quiet and wide eyed from surprise. He has never seen Hajime so furious. "I didn't rape her." Komaeda defended in a soft voice, not wanting to push Hajime even more./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Yes you did! You drugged her and slept with her! She wasn't in her right mind Komaeda!" His hands were gripping Komeda's shirt even class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Komaeda just stared at Hajime, waiting for the next thing he was going to say./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime let go with one arm, the other still gripping hard on Komaeda's shirt. He rotated his upper body and pulled back a clenched fist. He was ready to punch him on the face./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Komaeda cocked his head to the side and closed his eyes shut, expecting a punch from the slightly shorter male. When he felt that the punch wouldn't come he opened his eyes and saw that Hajime was in tears./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""I don't understand Komaeda. W-why?" Hajime chocked through tears. "I-I mean if y-you stopped loving me, if you were t-tired of me or if you didn't even love me to begin why didn't you just tell me?" He asked, looking deeply into Komaeda's grey eyes that stared class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime's heart shattered into a million fragments right in-front of Komaeda and he didn't even seem to care. Every fiber of Hajime's being was in agony. He felt like his whole world fell into an abyss of pure class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1""Hajime… I've never seen you cry like this."/span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime just shook his head. Of course Komaeda didn't answer his question, he didn't care. Deep in his heart he always had hoped that he and Komaeda would be okay. But right now he felt so stupid believing it./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Hajime just gave out a sad laugh. He finally let go of the other male and slowly made his way out of the house./span/p  
p class="p2" /p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"He left with more confusion in his mind, more pain in his heart and more heaviness in his soul./span/p 


	10. Chapter 10

Hajime took a life changing leap of faith two years and a few months ago. He was standing behind a tree watching over a certain male who was busy sitting on the sand under a palm tree, reading a thick book.

It was late in the afternoon and the sun was about to set. The sky exploded with a blend of shades of reds, oranges, violets and blues, giving the atmosphere a serene vibrance.

Hajime's hands were shaking, a cold bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. He couldn't believe he was finally going to do it. It took him a while to finally accept that he had feelings for the clueless male that was reading away and now was the time he was going to tell him how he felt.

Yup… It was now or never. Hajime gulped.

"Are you sure about this Chiaki?" Hajime bit his lip. He thought telling Komaeda how he felt would be a breeze, but now that he was standing here, a few minutes away from telling him everything, he felt dead-nervous. He was certain he would rather jump off a cliff than to go through with this but he needed to… he wanted Komaeda to be his boyfriend and he was confident that Komaeda liked him… but probably not in a romantic sense. That thinking was the cause of Hajime's pestering doubts. "Do you think he likes me back?" Hajime squeaked.

"Trust me Hajime. You'll be fine." she encouraged him, giving him a pat on the back. "I'm pretty confident that he feels the same way about you." she smiled.

"How would you know?" Hajime asked, grabbing the side of his collar, loosening it up. The boy was obviously uncomfortable and getting more nervous by the second.

"I just do." Chiaki replied confidently.

"No, you know what? I can't do this. There's no way he'd return my feelings. What if he ends up hating me? I'd rather stay friends th—"

Chiaki puffed her cheeks and pushed the taller male out of their hiding spot. "Just do it Hajime!" she said, getting annoyed of his constant worrying. "Quit wasting time."

"Chiaki! Hold o—" Hajime said trying to stop her. He stumbled but regained his balance as he stood in Komaeda's range of sight. He glanced over at Komaeda who has now just stopped reading and was staring directly at him.

Hajime just stood there for a good few minutes staring back at a very confused Komaeda.

"C'mon Hajime. You can do it." Chiaki cheered in a whisper that only Hajime was about to hear.

"Uhm… Hajime?" Komaeda said worried.

Hajime coughed, his cheeks were turning red. He approached the male who was now standing by the tree he was reading under, earlier. "Uh… Komaeda I ju—"

Komaeda touched Hajime's forehead. "You don't look so well Hajime. Are you okay?"

Hajime's cheeks flushed with a darker shade of red, he was sweating like crazy now. He grabbed the hand that was placed on his forehead and squeezed on it gently. "Uh, Yeah. Anyway Komaeda… I need to tell you something." Hajime's eyes darted to the side, getting even more nervous. "I… l-like you." he stuttered. "I uh… mean notjustlikebutsortoflikelike." he rushed. "So uh… If you want… can I be your boyfriend?" he shut his eyes, expecting a painful answer from the other male.

Komaeda was quiet, no response came from him except for his hand shaking in Hajime's gentle hold.

Hajime looked back at the male, Komaeda wore a tint of red on his cheeks.

They stood like that for a good minute, with no decision coming from the white-haired male, Hajime looked to the ground and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "I'm sorry…" Hajime said. He was about to let go but then Komaeda gripped Hajime's hand, not wanting to be released by the touch. Hajime looked back at the boy in surprise.

"Ah… Hajime, it's not like that but… I just want to ask you something. Are you sure about it?" Komaeda blinked with a questioning expression.

"What do you mean?" Hajime replied, confused.

"I mean, why would you like trash like me?" Komaeda asked with genuine curiosity in his voice.

"You aren't trash Komaeda. You are one of the most precious people in my life." Hajime said and pulled the slightly taller male into a warm embrace.

The white-head stood in shock. He never would have thought, even if he had the power to gather all his luck in exchange of something, that Hajime would want to be his boyfriend. "I— I've liked you for so long Hajime." He hugged the other male tighter. "I always thought you would never like someone like me." his voice cracked. "You don't know how happy this makes me." He smiled with tears running down his face.

"I'm really happy too Komaeda." Hajime just kept hugging the other male, not wanting to let go. He looked over at where Chiaki was: she was still peeking behind the tree they were hiding in earlier, and gave her a thumbs-up.

She gave a thumbs-up back with a satisfied smile.

"Mission accomplished." She mouthed.

Hajime was wrapped up in thin sheets, waiting for his lover. He stared at his finger that twirled on the sheets that was illuminated by the orange glow of Komaeda's bedside lamp. A small satisfied smile spread across his face. Hajime and his friend's futures looked very bright; he was just assigned new projects by the Future foundation, he and his friends are doing well with the Island's facility upgrades and his relationship with Komaeda has been going strong, they have now just finished celebrating their 2 years of being together.

The future they all planned was coming into fruition. He was sure nothing could ruin the things that they've been building for the past years; the island, their future and their relationships with one another.

The creak of the door brought him back from his thoughts. Komaeda walked across the room and lay down beside him. He looked at him with a smile and leaned in for a kiss. "Happy 2nd anniversary." he said.

"Yeah, happy 2nd anniversary." Komaeda murmured to the brunette with a soft smile. He turned to shut off his bedside lamp. Strong arms wrapped around him as he fixed his position to get comfortable.

After a few minutes Komaeda began to speak.

"Hey Hajime?"

"Hm?"

"Don't you ever get tired of being with me? I mean it's been two years already."

"Komaeda, how many times do you have to ask me that question?" Hajime asked, a little tired by the constant self-doubt of his boyfriend.

"Well, it's hard to imagine that you would still want to be with tra—"

"You aren't trash Komaeda." Hajime said. He kissed the back of Komaeda's neck and hugged him tighter.

Komaeda freed himself from Hajime's hold and turned around to face the male. Their noses were touching, his grey eyes stared into Hajime's green and red ones.

"I'll never leave your side Ko." Hajime said with sincerity in his eyes.

"Doesn't that seem like wishful thinking? What if I do something so horrible that would make you want to leave me?"

"Like what?" Hajime asked. He was sure there was nothing Komaeda could do to make Hajime want to leave him but he was still curious on what Komaeda had in mind.

"Like… hmm… I don't know." Komaeda said and turned to face the ceiling, his hands on his head, thinking of something to answer Hajime's question.

Hajime gave out a light laugh and sat up. He looked at the plotting male beside him. "Whatever you're planning to do, I'm going to make sure you fail." Hajime smirked. "You aren't letting me leave you without a good fight. And I'll always make sure we end up together in the end." he said with a determined smile on his face.

Komaeda looked at him in the eyes for a few seconds.

"But what if it's me who wants to leave you?"

Hajime's smile vanished, he felt a throbbing pain in his chest as the words left Komaeda's lips. He never thought of that. He was caught off guard by Komaeda's question. He paused for a few seconds to regain his composure. "Then I'll find you another reason to not want to leave me." his smile returning but it was not as confident as the last one.

"Not that I want to leave you or anything Hajime." Komaeda added with a sheepish laugh, realizing he hurt the brunnete.

An awkward silence fell over the two until Hajime spoke up again.

"Promise me, Ko, if it ever does happen, I want you to tell me." Hajime said in a quiet and serious tone. He looked at Komaeda and gave him a sad smile.

"Ah… yeah. But I doubt it will happen." Komaeda said, smiling. Making sure he gave out the brightest smile he could muster at that very moment.

The smile on Komaeda's face made Hajime relax. He sighed and kissed Komaeda on the lips. "Good night Ko. Try not to think too deeply with those kinds of thoughts" he said as he lay back down beside him. "You are very important to me."

Komaeda burried his face in Hajime's chest and wrapped his arms around him. "I'll try. Good night Hajime. I love you."

"I love you too."


	11. Chapter 11

Chiaki, Fuyuhiko and Souda were gathered in the hotel's dining room area. They whispered comforting words to the boy who had his head down covered by his folded arms on the table. It has been fifteen minutes since Hajime entered the room, bawling his eyes out. They all approached him with concern, but their questioning were just ignored by the male, so they just sat their rubbing his back saying things like E _verything's going to be okay_ or _Don't worry Hajime things happen for a reason_.

They all fell silent when they didn't get any further response. They were afraid to push the crying male to irritation. His cries grew quiet, and his heavy breathing grew steady. The three friends looked at each other and shrugged not knowing what to do next.

Another few minutes passed before Hajime raised his head. The sad expression displayed on his face earlier was now replaced with a calm look. He sighed and apologized. "Guys, I'm sorry for always crying like this. I've been such a baby for the past weeks.". He gave out a small laugh.

"Stop being an idiot, none of this is your fault." Fuyuhiko said.

Souda patted his back. "Don't be ashamed to cry. We know it's difficult for you."

"We will always be here for you Hajime, no matter what." Chiaki said, smiling at the boy.

Hajime thanked them as thoughts of what just happened moments ago with Komaeda entered his mind. He knew he needed to tell Chiaki the details.

He wanted to tell her, not because he wanted some heat on Komaeda, it was the opposite, he didn't want anyone to be angry at the boy—even though he hurt him in the worst way possible— rather, he wanted to tell Chiaki because she deserved to know, she needed to be set free from her self-blame that berated her, telling her that everything that happened was because of her doing.

He coughed. "Guys, may I have a private moment with Chiaki?"

Both boys looked at each other funny. They shrugged and looked back at Hajime. "Sure thing, just call us when you need us, we will be by the pool." Souda said, and both boys left.

"Chiaki…" Hajime said, unsure of how to continue. He was nervous. Chiaki might be hurt by what he was about to say.

"What is it Hajime?" She asked with concern in her eyes.

 _This needed to be done._ "Komaeda told me everything." Hajime gulped. "You had no fault in what happened. You slept with Komaeda because he slipped an aphrodisiac into your drink." Hajime said.

Hajime closed his eyes and readied himself for Chiaki's reaction.

 _3…2…1…_

She sighed in relief.

"This confirms my suspicions." She said with a thoughtful look.

"Wh-what?" Hajime questioned, dumbfounded.

"You see Hajime, I couldn't find a reason on what would have caused me to do those _things_ to Komaeda, especially if it would hurt you in the process." She said. "I'd never hurt you like that, Hajime." She shook her head and paused before she continued, "I couldn't blame the alcohol so I thought it was just an impulse… so I believed that I did _it_ because I liked Komaeda. But now, I can say for sure, I never liked him in a romantic sense." She said, relieved.

"But aren't you angry at him?" Hajime asked her, surprised by her calm response.

"Don't get me wrong Hajime, I'm upset by what he did," She looked at Hajime's eyes with a questioning expression. "But knowing Komaeda and his behavior, don't you think it's fishy?"

"Fishy?"

"Well, I'm pretty confident that Komaeda doesn't like me the way he likes you."

Hajime shook his head, unsure of Chiaki's words. "I don't know about that. I don't think he even liked me from the start." He said, with a downcast gaze.

"Hajime!" She said, startling the boy. "Of course he does! Everything you guys have been through, doesn't that count?" She wanted Hajime to stop seeing things with his low self-esteem.

Hajime shrugged. With everything that has happened, he wasn't so sure on what to believe anymore.

"Komaeda doesn't do things without reason. Remember his virtual suicide?" Chiaki reminded. "At first It was only you who believed he had an underlying purpose for it. And you opened our eyes at your understanding of his actions."

Hajime was surprised by her words. It didn't occur to him that there may have been a deeper meaning for Komaeda's actions. This made Hajime ponder.

"Don't you remember the friendship you shared on the virtual reality game? And what about the time you've spent together after he woke up from the comatose? What about the time you confessed your feelings to him and the time you guys spent after that?" She said, smiling, with one hand placed on her heart.

Hajime sighed heavily and stood up from where he was sitting. He wanted to cling to Chiaki's words and believe in it. It all made sense, but he wanted to be sure. And to know for sure, he knew what he was supposed to do.

He smiled and thanked Chiaki.

She understood what Hajime was going to do, so she gave him a hug and a _Good luck_.

He marched out of the Hotel restaurant and was approached by a freaked out Souda and Fuyuhiko.

"Oi! Where are you going?" Souda said, as both of them caught up to the male.

"I need to clear things up with Komaeda." He said keeping his eyes on the distance as he continued marching on with a look of determination.

"Well… we're here when you need us." Fuyuhiko said with a reaffirming smile. They both stopped as they watched the brunette move forward.

 _You aren't letting me leave you without a good fight._ Those words rang in Hajime's head. He remembered promising the other male that. He tried his best to keep that promise… even though Komaeda ripped his heart to shreds. He still wanted to go for it, even if it meant going through hell again.

 _I'll always make sure we end up together in the end._ Hajime's chest pained. _End up together in the end…_ It seemed like a dream that was out of reach. Yes he'd fight for the relationship, but if Komaeda didn't love him, then he couldn't do anything. He would just show the boy that he still cared for him and be there for him, even if they end up as friends.

 _Friends…_

 _Maybe… that's enough._

It's almost been an hour since he left his own home moments ago. The sky was already exploding with orange. He mustered up all his courage and stomped into the house.

"Komaeda!" he said, as he stormed into the bedroom, ready to confront the white-haired male.

Hajime was shocked with the sight that greeted him once he entered the room. He never would have expected to find Komaeda in such a state.

"Komaeda..?" he said, his confidence starting to turn into worry.

Komaeda gave out a laugh. "Ahah! Hajime, what are you doing here?" He said trying to act like he was fine.

Komaeda was seated on the same spot, where Hajime pushed him earlier. He had tears flowing from his eyes. It was the first time in Hajime's life to witness Komaeda cry like that.

Komaeda wiped his tears away, while giving Hajime one of his fake happy smiles.

Hajime kneeled across the boy and hugged him, wanting him to know that he still cared for the male.

Komaeda was shocked at the touch of the brunette, and tried to push him away.

"Get off me… I said get off!" He shouted as he pushed harder to get Hajime to let go of the hug, but they both fell to the floor with Hajime's arms still wrapped around him.

Komaeda's tears and emotions started pouring out of his eyes like a breaking dam that was not strong enough to hold a large volume of water in.

He gave-in and hugged the other male back and sobbed.

Something clicked in Hajime's mind, he understood. He didn't need words to know what was going through the Komaeda's head. The anger, bitterness and despair that overtook Hajime's mind blinded him from remembering Komaeda's past which made him who he was today. He was too caught up in his own emotions to understand what the other male went through and what he was feeling at present, but now he had an idea. He held him tight and didn't dare to let go.

They stayed like that until the sun was sheathed behind the ocean, and the stars started appearing, dancing in the night sky.

Hajime felt that the other boy's breathing was rhythmic and peaceful. _He must have fallen asleep._ Hajime yawned, as a deep drowsiness overtook his whole body. He was tired. He had to admit though, this was the most peace he's felt in a while.

Komaeda woke up on a soft surface with sheets that surrounded him. He remembered he fell asleep in Hajime's arms. He observed his surroundings but he couldn't see anything. The room was engulfed by darkness. He sat up and looked at the green lights displayed on the bedside clock.

 _3:22 AM._

He panicked as he tried to search for the other male with his hands, cupping the bed in the dark.

The bed was empty.

Not only was he surrounded by darkness, he could feel the darkness seep into his heart.

 _He finally left._

He laid back down and hugged his knees. He stayed like that for a while until the door swung open.

Hajime gave out a tired sigh and wiped his damp forehead. He dropped all his belongings on the floor and looked at the wide-eyed male on the bed.

"It's time to talk."

Hajime sat across the boy on the bed who was concentrated on looking at his own pale feet. Hajime was seated on a chair with an adamant stare on Komaeda. They stayed like that in silence until Komaeda gave in as he felt the pressure getting to him.

"What are you doing here with your bags?"

"I'm staying."

"Why don't you just leave me already?"

"Because I don't want to."

"But I slept with your best friend."

"I know."

"So…?"

"I still want to make this work Komaeda."

"Make what work? I'm in love with Chiaki!" he shouted in irritation.

Hajime gave a small laugh to his statement.

Komaeda looked at him with a piercing stare. It was the first time he looked at Hajime during the whole conversation. "Is it just because you don't think I have a chance with her? Is that why you're laughing?"

Hajime sighed. "Just give it up Komaeda."

"But I do." he said with a smirk.

"You're wrong." Hajime said. "I'm sure you don't like her in that kind of way." confidence echoed in Hajime's statement.

Komaeda just looked at the brunette, and waited for him to explain further.

"I may have figured it out a little late, but not too late." Hajime said with a soft gaze directed to Komaeda.

Komaeda continued without saying a word. He just waited for Hajime to say more.

"You don't like drinking Komaeda."

"What do you mean?" Komaeda said, playing dumb.

"You needed the alcohol combined with the aphrodisiac to get you into the mood, to sleep with someone who you never were attracted to in the first place." Hajime said with his finger pointed to Komaeda. "So you mixed some into your beer when you were playing video games with Chiaki. And I'm sure you didn't want me to find out about you drinking the aphrodisiac."

Komaeda continued with confidence. "So? Why would I tell you about the aphrodisiac in the first place if I didn't want you to know I took some myself?"

"Because you wanted me to forgive Chiaki and you didn't want to hurt her in the long run." Hajime said in a calm manner. "You chose her because you knew I would easily forgive her, because she's my best friend and it would put you in a tighter spot where I could easily hate you and leave you." He explained. "Isn't that your whole goal after all?"

"Aren't you forgetting Hajime? This doesn't make sense, because in the first place you never told me when you would return. So if my goal was 'for you to find out and end up hating me', then how would I know when to sleep with Chiaki?." Komaeda said. "If I didn't know when you would arrive, it would just contradict my whole plan of you finding out." Komaeda concluded. "You're just in denial Hajime. Just accept the fact that I love another." He said with poison in his tongue.

"That's right, I never told you I was coming back. But I know for a fact that you relied on your luck. So you just continued on with your plan, knowing that I would find out somehow. B-because you w-wanted…" Hajime's voice started cracking. It hurt too much to admit it, but he needed to. "Because you wanted to end your relationship with me." Hajime's eyes grew sad as he continued to look at the white-haired male.

Komaeda stayed quiet for a while then tears began to flow free from his eyes.

Hajime stood up and sat beside the boy on the bed. He moved closer to Komaeda's face and whispered to his ear. "So… tell me. You did all this because… you hate me?"

Komaeda didn't respond. His head was low, looking at his crossed legs.

"I th-thought that at first." Hajime whispered, his voice continued cracking. "But you did it because you l-love me, right?" Hajime too started crying.

Komaeda looked at Hajime. "I-I—"

"Y-You did it because you wanted s-someone better to end up with me…" Hajime said in between hiccups. "You did it because you felt that you weren't good enough."

"Y-you have so much potential Hajime. I don't want t-to hold you back. You have so much hope to give the world." Komaeda said with so much love radiating from his eyes. "Y-you shouldn't stay with trash like me."

"I-I told you! You aren't trash Komaeda." Hajime said, shaking from anger. "Don't you get it? I want to be with you! No one else!" Hajime shouted loud and clear for the boy to hear. "…I've always wanted to be with you Komaeda." his voice, softening. He grabbed the back of Komaeda's head and pushed their foreheads together. Their teary eyes staring at one another. "Whenever you feel that I'm losing interest in you, I want you to know you're wrong. Whenever you feel that you're not good enough for me, I want you to know you're wrong. Whenever you feel like I would be leaving you for someone else, I want you to know you're wrong. Whenever you feel like trash, I want you to know you're wrong. I love you Komaeda! I love you. I love you. I love you…" He paused and stared at him with so much intensity to let the other know that he meant every word. "Will you please, let me stay with you." He whispered.

Komaeda was surprised with everything Hajime said. The feeling of love sparked in Komaeda's heart and lit his soul on fire. All his doubts concerning his relationship with Hajime, all his self-depreciating thoughts that clouded his mind, it all melted away.

He knew that the negative thoughts would come back to hit him another day, he knew this feeling of being free would soon chain him again with doubts, but because of Hajime's faithfulness and his willingness to be with him despite his flaws and imperfections he made a promise to himself to fight as hard as Hajime did to make their relationship work.

He closed his eyes and nodded against Hajime's forehead. "Yes Hajime. Please stay with me." Komaeda whispered back and opened his eyes to meet Hajime's. "I love you."

Smiles spread across both of their faces. All the heaviness they were both carrying were lifted, they both felt light like they were floating among the stars.

Hajime pulled Komaeda's head closer until their lips met.

After the deep kiss, they both held their gaze and smiled at each other. They both felt like nothing could come close to tearing them apart.

A week has passed and everyone was dancing on the sands of the beach. The lit torches gave the night a warm and welcoming vibe. Hajime stood, drinking a glass of punch, chatting with Souda and Fuyuhiko.

"Great party Hajime!" The sharp-toothed boy said.

"You have to thank the Future Foundation for that. It's their token to everyone on the island." Hajime replied, then sipped his punch.

"Hey guys, look over there." Fuyuhiko said, pointing to a certain white-haired male.

They saw Komaeda, who was slowly walking to where Chiaki and Mikan was.

"I'm glad you guys are okay." Souda said, looking back at Hajime. He was happy for the both of them but with a little added sarcasm to his voice, he said, "But come on! You didn't give me a chance to run over the guy!" He shouted with angry, adrenaline-pumped tears in his eyes.

Hajime stared at the boy with surprise and annoyance. "You know Souda… when you told me you would run him over with a tank…" Hajime said with a cool demeanor. "I didn't expect to wake up with an actual tank parked in front of my house the day after I spoke to Komaeda!" Hajime shouted at the Pink-haired male.

"Hey now! If you guys didn't end up together, you would be begging me, to fire a hundred rockets at the guy." He said with confidence

.

Hajime smacked his own face with his free hand. "Just… just get your tank off my lawn. It's been sitting there for a week."

Fuyuhiko laughed at their banter. "Well at least you know you can count on Souda!"

"Shush Fuyuhiko, Komaedas going for it!" Souda said with excitement in his eyes.

Hajime looked to where Komaeda was going, He was now talking to Mikan, probably telling her he needed to talk to Chiaki.

Mikan left, and Komaeda faced Chiaki with a nervous expression.

The three males watched, as they were curios to see the outcome of Komaeda's efforts. As soon as Komaeda opened his mouth to speak to Chiaki, she knitted her eyebrows together and glared at him while puffing her cheeks. She then proceeded to turn around and walk off.

"Ahh… Poor guy." Souda commented.

"Tch, he deserved it." Fuyuhiko said while folding his arms around him.

Hajime left both of the guys and approached his lover. He placed a hand over Komaeda's shoulder as both of them watched Chiaki going to where Sonia was standing talking to Akane.

"Don't worry, it will take time." Hajime reassured the male. "I'm sure she will forgive you."

"Ahh… You think so?"

"I knows so." Hajime balled his hand and gave a light, playful bonk to Komaeda's head. "It's your fault anyway for doing such an idiotic thing."

"Ahh… don't be so mean Hajime. I already said I was sorry." Komaeda said with a light and playful tone. "But seriously, I'm going to have to work hard to get an apology." he added, with a worried look.

"Yeah… now come on, let's not worry about it for a bit, let's enjoy the rest of the evening."

They both walked towards where Fuyuhiko and Souda were standing.

Both Hajime and Komaeda felt the same thing as they intertwined their fingers and walked together.

With peaceful and content smiles on their faces, both boys had an overflowing feeling of hope in their hearts.

Hope for their relationships, hope for each other and hope for their love to grow even more.

—-

 **Authors Note:**

Hi guys, sorry for the wait.

Thank you all for reading until the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed the ride. I apologize if you guys didn't enjoy the ending or my writing style, this is my first time writing a story after all, so please leave me reviews or give me tips that could help me grow as a writer. Or just leave a random comment or anything if you wish.

If you guys want to read more of my stories, I have another one that I'm working on (Another Komahina / Hinakoma). I will try my best to post it at the end of next week, and I hope I can update regularly every Thursday or Friday.

Again, Thank you guys! I hope to see you on my next fic.


End file.
